for an annuity of £800 for his own life and thereafter of £400 for the joint lives of some of his children. At the same time Jones relieved Daly from responsibility for an annual payment of £232 assumed when acquiring Smock Alley, and agreed to give him an annual profit rent of £300 on the theatres in Cork and Limerick. The Dublin Evening Post reported that Daly "has quitted the Dramatic Throne while in the plenitude of power and fullness of public encouragement". The timing of his retirement was well chosen, being promptly followed by the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Jones was granted a new theatrical patent for twenty-one years, but no sooner had he refurbished and reopened Crow Street than martial law was proclaimed, prohibiting citizens from appearing on the streets after 8 p.m. Jones's application for compensation failed to find sufficient support in Parliament, and further disturbances resulted in his theatre again being closed in 1803. For "reasons of economy" Daly removed to the Isle of Man, where he built "an elegant mansion" and found himself a neighbour of Thomas "Jerusalem" Whaley, an Irish MP and notorious gambler. Whaley's brother-in-law was John Fitzgibbon who, as Irish Attorney-General, had validated the complaints concerning Daly's management of the Theatre Royal. In 1799, an altercation took place between Daly and Whaley, arising from which Whaley preferred charges against Daly. On appearing in court Daly used "intemperate expressions" and was sentenced to a month's imprisonment for contempt. The balance of his years seem to have passed quietly. Reputation Surviving accounts of Richard Daly's qualities and conduct vary to a remarkable degree. As actor Throughout his years in theatre, the range and quality of Daly's skills as a player were enthusiastically applauded in the Dublin press. However, fairly soon after his retirement and in an otherwise sympathetic account of his career, the Thespian Dictionary or Dramatic Biography of the Present Age declared that his acting in tragedy was "contemptible" and in light comedy only "tolerable". This assessment may have come from the pen of W. C. Oulton, who would have seen Daly in action on many occasions. It was adopted by later commentators, yet was at odds with the opinion of others such as John O'Keeffe, who was familiar with the work of all the leading players of the period and remembered Daly as "an accomplished actor". Nevertheless, contemporary reservations about his ability